NCJ Number
177361
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 53-59
Date Published
1999
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether specialized high-security prisons, designed for total control, are a crime control panacea, and the assertion that "supermax" prisons are a sign of societal desperation is considered in light of various management issues.
Abstract
Supermax prisons have evolved out of public concern over crime and punishment. A supermax prison is defined as a freestanding facility or distinct unit within a facility that provides for the management and secure control of inmates who are officially designated as violent or seriously disruptive. Prisoners in the security housing unit at Pelican Bay Prison in California are kept in solitary confinement in relatively small cells between 22 and 23 hours a day. In Texas, a high-security unit has been completed near Huntsville and construction on two other similar units has begun. Prisoners are put in the unit for one of three reasons: (1) they have tried to escape; (2) they pose a physical threat to staff or other prisoners; or (3) they are members of disruptive groups. Like the California facility, prisoners in Huntsville spend most of their time alone in small cells. In general, prisoners are placed in high-security units for administrative and/or disciplinary reasons. Nonetheless, opponents of supermax prisons criticize the units on human rights grounds and question their ability to reduce violence in prisons and society. The impact of total control on the personal and social identities of prisoners is discussed, and the need for a balanced approach to crime control is noted. 26 references